Smart Money
By Brad Brain, CFP, R.F.P., CLU, CH.F.C., FCSI
Don’t believe everything you see on the internet
I have had a few people ask me what I thought about Warren Buffett profiteering from the obstruction of the Keystone XL pipeline. This stems from an internet hoax that went viral which claims that the Buffett has a vested interest in making sure that Keystone doesn’t happen. Here’s a sample of the hoax.
http://myrightwingdad.blogspot.ca/2014/06/fw-fwd-fw-fwd-burlington-northern-santa.html
This sounds plausible if it was accepted at face value. And many people will accept this at face value. But I know a thing or two about Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, and this just doesn’t jive with what I know, so I start to research what is claimed as factual. A few minutes in it dawns on me that someone else has probably already refuted these wild claims, so I Google “Burlington Northern hoax”, and up pops this…
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/Burlington-Rail-Road.htm#.VGFBMfnF9SJ
Bottom line – it’s a nice conspiracy theory, but these claims of crony capitalism just don’t stand up to even the gentlest measure of scrutiny. Don’t believe everything you see on the internet!
The opinions expressed are those of Brad Brain, CFP, R.F.P. CLU, CH.F.C., FCSI. Brad Brain is a Senior Financial Advisor with Manulife Securities Incorporated, in Fort St John, BC. Manulife Securities Incorporated is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Brad Brain can be reached at brad.brain@manulifesecurities.ca or www.bradbrainfinancial.com.
